Oatman, Arizona

Get your kicks (jackasses, that is) on Route 66 in Oatman. When I filmed early in the morning, these were no burros present, as all of our four-legged friends were sleeping in. But there were plenty of manure droppings on the street as evidence of yesterday’s festivities. Oatman is a former mining town in the Black Mountains of Mohave County. Today, it is a tourist destination located on one of the few surviving portions of Route 66 in western Arizona. Wild burros freely roam the town and can be hand-fed carrots and "burro chow," both readily available in practically every store in town. The burros are descended from pack animals turned loose by early prospectors, and are protected by the US Department of the Interior. Casino gambling is available in nearby Laughlin, Nevada. After a few other designated names, the title Oatman was chosen in the posthumous honor of Olive Oatman, a young Illinois girl who was kidnapped by (presumably) Yavapai Indians and forced to work as a slave. She was later traded to Mohave Indians who adopted her as a daughter and had her face tattooed in the custom of the tribe. She was released in 1855 near the current site of the town.